Love is a temple, love is a higher law/
You ask me of me to enter, but then you make me crawl.
U2’s “One” is about a man questioning how great his relationship really is. He is coming to the conclusion that it might be over. The relationship is still passionate—that’s not the problem. They speak of each other as if they were “one”. But they don’t treat each other that way.
They argue late into the night, the relationship is loveless—at times she almost holds her love over him. At the end of the song Bono comes to the realization that we have one life and we should treat each other well and seek out happiness. We’re one but we’re not the same.
“One” is a bit more edgy than a lot of U2’s successful stuff off of their previous album, Joshua Tree. It is more nuanced both musically and lyrically. It helped cement them as perhaps the largest band in the world at the time. Bono’s vocal is superb.
He is restrained and avoids the vocal runs that he sometimes succumbs to. The guitar work sounds great. It is not spectacular, but the sound is perfect and creates a melancholy sound that is unique and fit the lyrics perfectly.
One U2- Lyrics
Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you now?
You got someone to blame
You say one love, one life (One life)
It’s one need in the night
One love (one love), get to share it
Leaves you darling, if you don’t care for it
Did I disappoint you?
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without
Well it’s too late, tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We’re one, but we’re not the same
We get to carry each other
Carry each other
One, one
One, one
One, one
One, one
Have you come here for forgiveness?
Have you come to raise the dead?
Have you come here to play Jesus?
To the lepers in your head
Well, did I ask too much, more than a lot?
You gave me nothing, now it’s all I got
We’re one, but we’re not the same
See we hurt each other, then we do it again
You say love is a temple, love is a higher law
Love is a temple, love is a higher law
You ask me of me to enter, but then you make me crawl
And I can’t keep holding on to what you got, ’cause all you got is hurt
One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters and my brothers
One life
But we’re not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
One, one
One, one
One
One love, one life
written by U2
I found this because I was looking for an interpretation of the lyrics. Yours is a great one. I see in the YouTube comments that people thinks that his the one speaking of a “higher love” which doesn’t make sense if se listen to the lyris when he starts saying ” you say love his a tempos, love the higher love”. Thank you for the post.